Poland explains challenges of shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine

This was emphasized in an interview with Ukrinform by Poland’s Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine, Piotr Lukasiewicz.

“The idea of ​​shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine, I know has to be explained to the Ukrainian public. In the media space, it seems desirable, but technically it is quite difficult to achieve. First of all, the technical obstacles are very important. here on the territory We do not have enough capabilities to protect our own airspace. We are only in the middle of building a multi-layered air defense system,” said Lukasiewicz.

The second reason, the Polish diplomat noted, is that it should not be a bilateral decision, but an allied one, which was emphasized by both US defense officials and NATO leaders.

“That would mean that NATO would come into direct conflict with Russia. I know this is a difficult story to hear in Ukraine, but it is also necessary to explain to your viewers that NATO is not at war with Russia. NATO is supporting Ukraine to the maximum extent possible and will help Ukraine defend its territory as much as possible, to victory”, the diplomat stressed.

He emphasized that the US missile defense base at Redzikowo in northern Poland, which will soon come into operation, will be designed to potentially shoot down ballistic missiles heading towards the US and deeper into Europe. “It focuses on these huge missiles rather than drones or other types of missiles. So it’s technically something different,” explained Lukasiewicz.

“What we can do about the Kinzhals, the Kh-type missiles that are destroying so much of Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure, is that the Allies can provide more equipment like Patriots or NASAMS, and other types of missile defense systems that they already exist and are being used very skillfully by Ukrainian defenders”, emphasized Lukasiewicz.

As the agency reported, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly appealed to Poland at various levels with a request to shoot down Russian missiles flying in the direction of Poland, including over the territory of Ukraine.

In this regard, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously informed the agency that the issue is being discussed by the allies, but no decision has been made on this issue.

At the beginning of September, the head of Polish diplomacy, Radosław Sikorski, stated that he supports the idea of ​​shooting down Russian missiles by the Polish air defense system over the territory of Ukraine, mentioning that this is his personal opinion and not the position of the Polish Government . Instead, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Poland emphasized that Poland would not shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine.

The former Minister of National Defense of Poland, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, in a comment to Ukrinform, stated that the decision to shoot down Russian air targets over the territory of Ukraine can be taken by several NATO Allies, without the involvement of the entire Alliance, but with the consent of other Allies.

Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Polish airspace has been violated several times by Russian missiles during the mass bombing of Ukraine.